Once August hits, it’s a different game for teachers. Some of our Southern friends are already back, and if you are in the North like me, it starts becoming a reality. I thought I’d give a big run down of some of the best things to get prepped and get for Back to School this year. Full disclosure – some affiliate links. This won’t change your price and I get a small kickback. No pressure!

Things To Do

• Create a list of procedures to teach. These make a huge difference in your classes running smoothly. Once students know what is expected, you can always refer to this pre-set standard operating procedure and it will guide them. 
• Set your calendar before you put any school things in there. Anniversaries, birthdays, important dates. Personal calendar comes first! 
• Reassess your boundaries. Do you need to be stricter with contacting you on nights and weekends? Do you need to not give out your personal number? Do you say yes to extra things too readily? Take a look at the boundaries you set last year and evaluate if you need to reset some. Check out this post to get more ideas on boundaries.
• Communicate important things to your admin and team. Do you stress really easily on ‘see me after school’ without a reason being given even when you know it’s probably nothing? Do you need help with concert crowd control? What about changes to your performances from last year. Communicate things you want to change while everyone is fresh. 

Curriculum

The number one back to school ACTUAL school thing to do is get your curriculum in order. I know it seems less obvious than an empty room, bare bulletin boards and some of the physically obvious stuff, but this is why we do what we do! Make sure that you set some time for yourself during your back to school weeks to do this undisturbed.

Take some serious time, sit down and get your curriculum in order. Plot out what needs to happen where, what you want students to know by the end of the year, and take inventory of what resources you have for planning. 

Spend some time refreshing yourself on what you liked, didn’t like, wanted to add, wanted to remove, and wanted to adjust in your classroom, curriculum, and everything in between.

Check out this post to get more ideas for curriculum planning.

Essentials

• Make sure all your emergency info is in good condition and displayed prominently.
• Check to make sure all your school provided technology works.
• Check inventory on school provided consumable supplies in your room (writing utensils, paper, etc) and see if you need something to get it ordered ASAP.
• Organize your teacher area, files, etc. and set up places for documentation, record keeping, and such.
• Inventory your stuff. Make sure everything you personally own is listed in a document, and clearly marked with your name.
• Get your class lists, set up your gradebook, update iDoceo, and create ensemble lists.
• Prep audition dates for extras like choir, performance roles, etc, school calendar dates and performances.
• Prep your emergency sub plans. 

Decor

• Print yourself a DND sign for your planning time. 
• Decide what’s wall things are essential, what are your daily needs, temporary needs, and what’s just fluff. 
  Here’s my thoughts:
  Essential: Legally necessary stuff
  Daily: rules, things you will refer to (word wall or pocket charts for a less overwhelming word wall), etc
  Temporary: Recorder fingerings if you only teach it part of the year, anchor charts that you refer to occasionally that don’t really need to be up every day. I’ve used an anchor chart stand so my room wasn’t overwhelmed with posters, and I still love it. Also – books – there are some gorgeous displays I’ve seen on Instagram, but unless you plan on actually using it during the month, it’s just more to look at that doesn’t necessarily need to be out on display, especially when you are displaying books for 6 grade levels. 
  Fluff: Cute stuff like banners, welcome signs, non-functional decor (things that don’t teach a concept). Keep these to a minimum or pick only a few to accent your room. They may be adorable but don’t let this stuff overwhelm your room!! If you really want all of them, rotate so it doesn’t become too much.
• Pick what you need and start there. It’s always easier to add throughout the year rather than spend all your time during BTS prep to over decorate and let it be overwhelming. 
• Think about any sort of mood makers you want in your room. Lamps, filters for UV lights, and plants all help make your room feel calmer and less industrial.
• Think about a calm corner, or a peace table. Read about peace tables here.

Check out this post for my must have requirements for music classroom decor.

Classroom Tools

Think about things you wish you had last year while you still have a budget…if you get one… (raise your hand no budget friends 🙋🏻‍♀️). Create an Amazon wishlist or a Donor’s Choose project to get some tools you’ve been eyeing for a while. Looking for inspo? Check out my Amazon Storefront here. 

Paperwork

• Parent volunteer forms (check out this post for a good list of things they can do for you!)
• Calendar
• First week documents – student surveys, info sheets, parent forms.
• Back to school night/open house materials
• Emergency forms
• Pre-tests for necessary assessments, student learning objectives, growth goals, etc

Things to Review

• Classroom Management! The number one thing that can make or break your class. Review your policies, what works, what isn’t working, and what you may want to adjust. Read about some classroom management tips here.
• Social Media – This is a great time of year to go through and clear out things. Remove people you don’t want to see all your things. If you have an account for your school music program or you as a music teacher, prep student release forms if you use student pictures. Check out this post for some guides on social media for teachers to protect you and your students.
• Take a look at any book ideas you may have saved over the summer. Did you see a new children’s lit book that you know will be perfect for a lesson? Save yourself middle of the school year time and order it now. Need inspo? Check out The Ultimate Music Ed Book List to see some of the new books that came out.
• Take some time to reflect on your practices in the classroom. Are your students who have special needs having those needs met? This post from my friend Eric can definitely help you reflect on that. Check it out for some ideas on serving your special needs students.
• Set a professional goal that will help have a smoother year. Check out some ideas in this post.

2023 Back to School Guide 

Here are some of my favs for BTS 2023! You can also find all of it in one place here.

New Children’s Literature

1. The Story of the Saxophone (March 2023)
2. Dolly Parton’s Billy the Kid Makes it Big (April 2023)
3. Dancing the Tinikling (August 2023)
4. Maakusi Loves Music (November 2022)
5. La Mariachi (July 2023)
6. We Belong to the Drum/mistikwashkihk kitipêyimikonaw (May 2023)
7. The Green Piano (January 2023)
8. The Girl Who Heard Music (April 2023)
9. Sugar Pie Lullaby (February 2023)
10. Victor Discovers the Violin (December 2022)

Favorite Classroom Tools

1. Doorbell – Not only is this awesome for attention getting but when your class is making tons of noise you can hear students who may need to come into the room instead of a quiet knock on the door.
2. Ukulele
3. Egg Shakers
4. Silicone wristbands – Great for choosing partners!
5. Tinikling Bands
6. Googley-eyed finger puppets – An easy puppet that you can pass out one to each of the students.
7. Dry erase paddles – An easy way for students to hold up written answers.
8. Ipad stand

Teacher Materials

1. Visual Schedule
2. The Music Teacher’s Curriculum Planner
3. Music Teacher Organizer
4. Rhythm Manipulatives
5. Music Class Essential Rubrics
6. The Kodaly Aspiring Recorder Method

Decor

1. Happy Face Light
2. Multicultural chromatic solfege hand signs
3. Succulents
4. Ukulele chord charts
5. Folk Dance formation posters
6. Standards and I Can Statments
7. Colorful lamp
8. Free 32 weeks of Listening musician and composer posters
9. MUSIC Rules

Resources

Not all new but these are some amazing resources that you should definitely check out!

1. The ABCs of My Feelings and Music – A free diverse bonus listening list here
2. Music Education for Social Change
3. Music Education and Social Emotional Learning
4. Responsive Classroom for Music, Art, PE, and Other Special Areas
5. Teaching Music to Students with Special Needs
6. Using Technology with Elementary Music Approaches
7. Songs of the Sun
8. Classroom Management for Art, Music, and PE Teachers

Splurges

1. Stanley Tumbler – I am almost embarrassed to say how much I love this mug. I’ve basically lived from it during my pregnancy and it holds 3 cans of La Croix. I caved and bought it since I’m a butterfingers and the handle has been a good idea for me!
2. External Hard Drive – Don’t save all your stuff on a school computer (or a school account Google Drive). If someone runs an update or if you change schools you have
3. Cricut – if you think you can use it, it’s worth it! Cut bulletin board letters and shapes, use vinyl to label things, and anything else you can come up with.
4. Ember Mug – Keeps your coffee warm. WARM.
5. Everyone is Musical Sweatshirt
6. iPad – My favorite 3 apps for the teacher are iDoceo, Goodnotes, ToDoIst.
7. QBall – a toss-able microphone!

I hope you’ve gotten some good ideas, some inspiration, and some ideas where to start!